Private purses: women's tie-on pockets

By | August 27th, 2022|Categories: Accessories, Fashion, Regency Era, Underpinnings, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions, Women's History|

One thing I love about my Recollections dresses is the deep pockets hidden in the pleats and folds. They are absolutely perfect for carrying my iPhone and lipstick. The pockets are one of the subtle modern conveniences that make Recollections so great. While they are great examples of 19th-century clothing, in truth, dresses from that [...]

Victorian and Edwardian combination garments

By | May 22nd, 2022|Categories: Edwardian Era, Fashion, Underpinnings, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions|

I love wearing petticoats! Recently I wrote a post about the history of petticoats and discovered that our readers love them as well. I am also a big fan of the history of the corset and its variations over time. It is therefore surprising that I have never done much digging into the history or [...]

All about petticoats

By | March 27th, 2022|Categories: Fashion, Underpinnings, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions|Tags: , , |

Some people like to dress up, and some people don’t. Personally, nothing makes me feel more regal and confident than a full skirt with a petticoat underneath. Besides this, most of the fashion trends that I have studied involve women’s clothing that required a petticoat to wear properly, yet I have never done much reading [...]

Stomachers: 18th century status symbols

By | January 29th, 2022|Categories: Accessories, Fashion, Revolutionary War era, Underpinnings|Tags: , |

What if you could have all of the best aspects of your favorite outfit but look like you were wearing something new to every party? This is exactly what stomachers did for the elite back in the 16th through 18th centuries. The surviving examples are beautiful insights into both the artistry of the time and [...]

Pannier, robe à la française, and robe à la anglais: what's what

By | January 18th, 2022|Categories: Fashion, Underpinnings, Women's History|

The classic French pannier dresses of the 18th century have been a long-time interest of mine but something that I have never delved into studying. Recently I purchased a set of antique brass bells online and when they arrived I was pleased that one of the bells is shaped like a woman wearing what I [...]

Bloomers: the national controversy of the 1890s

By | January 13th, 2022|Categories: Fashion, Underpinnings, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions, Women's History|Tags: , , , |

This weekend I have been hard at work preparing a presentation for Historic New England titled: The Dress Reform Movement: Who, What, When, Where, and HOW. One of the points I love making in my presentations is that the radical nature of the bloomers and the public outcry that they caused when they momentarily returned to [...]

Elegance at home: Victorian wrappers

By | November 21st, 2021|Categories: Fashion, Underpinnings, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions, Women's History|Tags: , |

I have had a lot of fun exploring nightclothes from the past for the blog this year. And as always, I am a true lover of all things Victorian. As such, the topic of Victorian wrappers has been on my mind for some time.  I love that they mimic the shape of the popular dress [...]

Victorian nightcaps

By | October 28th, 2021|Categories: 1920s fashion, Accessories, Edwardian Era, Edwardian Fashion, Fashion, Underpinnings, Victorian Era, Victorian Fashions|

I recently wrote a blog post on Victorian nightgowns and found them so fun to look at. I love the idea that so much thought and care was put into garments that wouldn’t be admired by many people. And of course, there is the simple fact that so much of what women wore in the [...]

One hundred years of nightgowns: from the Victorian era to the 1950s

By | October 3rd, 2021|Categories: 1920s fashion, 1950s fun, Edwardian Era, Fashion, Roaring 20s, Underpinnings, Victorian fashion, Women's History|Tags: , , |

There is something about cooler temperatures that always gets me thinking about pretty and/or comfy sleepwear. Even though it has been just one week of fall here in Denver, I am already dreaming about flannel nightgowns, terry cloth robes, and Uggs. As often happens, I started to think about the evolution of the clothing item [...]